Window shade



Sept. 28, 1937. J. s. MEAD 2,094,178

I WINDOW SHADE Filed sept. 2s, v195e;

- f f 7 -EIGI j 5 INVENTOR. zfJMfs 3 M54 a.

'ATTORNEYS BY 'I Patented Sept. 28, 1937 WINDOW SHADE James S. Mead, Rising Sun, Ind.; Rising Sun State Bank administrator of said James S. Mead, deceased f Application September 28, 1936, Serial No. 102,925

Claims. (Cl. 156-27) My invention relates to window shades of the type which are rolled on spring rollers having the.

usual releasable stop mechanism and mounted vertically over a window so that when the shade is 5 unrolled it will cover all or a portion of the window itself. My novel window shade is the type which may be unrolled to cover a .portion of the Window and/or which may be bodily moved together with its roller vertically upandfdown the face of the window, so that the shade may cover a portion of the window, as for example, the center or bottom portion while leaving the upper portion uncovered. Window shadesof thistype have been on the market but the controls vare l5 usually extremely complicated and necessitate at least two individual sets of controls one for unfrolling the shade and the other for moving the shade as a whole vertically up and down the window.

It is an object of my invention to provide a window shade of the above described type which may be either unrolled or moved bodily up and down the window by grasping a single cord attached to the center or bottom edge of the win- 2 dow shade alone.

Ell

It is a further object of my invention to pro-1,V

vide awindow shade having the above advan tages and characteristics but which may 'be cheaply and easily constructed, and, for the most part, composed of rollers or portions thereof which are now on the market and which are typical of the usual spring shade roller now in use.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a window shade of the above type which may be easily installed and adjusted by the purchaser and which will withstand a great amount of abuse without injury or the necessity* of complicated readjustments. `il() Another objects of my invention is to provide a `window shade with all of the above characteristics which in appearance looks like the ordinary window shade which may Anot be moved bodily up and down the window, and which when moved,

bodily down the window does not kcut out any of the light coming through the window above the shade, and`does not possess unsatisfactory adjusting means, etc., for controlling the action of the shade.

These and other objects of my invention which will be set forth hereinafter or will be .apparent to'one skilled in the art upon reading these specifications, I accomplish by that certain construetion and arrangement of parts of which I shall 5 now describe a preferred embodiment, `Reference is now made to the drawing which forms a part hereof, and in which: A

Figure 1 is a front view of my novel window shade installed on a typical window.

Fig. 2 is a cross section of one end of the lower 5 g roller of my novel window shade.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of my lower window shade roller taken on the section line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is the same section as illustrated in Fig. 10 3 but with the lower window shade in its locked position which prevents its further unrolling.

FigA 5 is a section of the other end of my `window shade roller taken on the section line 5,5 of

Fig. (i shows a modification of mynovel rollpintle illustrated in Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a perspectverviewpof the bracket for holding niy lower window shade roller.` l l y Fig. 8 is a cross section ofa modification of 20 my novel roll andfraine". w

Briefly, in the practice' of my invention, I -provide the iis'ual window shade roller 'positioned and held in the usual windowl shade roll-.holder at the top of my window, and insteadfof winding-25 the window shade itself upon thisroller, fI' wind. two straps at the ends thereof so as not to interfere with the open portion of the window. Upon the end of these two straps I hang a frame in. which is positioned a second window shade roller: 30 carrying the shade itself withthere-roll spring having less tension than the re-roll spring in the upper roller. One end of lthenlower roller is provided with spring means and a revolving: I paWl which revolves with the roller, together 35 witha stop which abuts the pawl whenthe win` dowshade is pulled at an anglev to the vertical,- and hence prevents the shade roller vfrom unrolling, and in effect, unrolls the straps on the first roller. y directly downward or in the Vertical, the shade' Aitself will unroll on its roller-but lthe straps will not unroll on the first roller because the spring,l tension is greater; f f YReferring tothe drawing, I provide Vthe'usual 45 type of spring'shade4 roller l, having the usual' type of releasable stops 2 and the re-roll spring 3, and VI mount this in the typical window shade roller brackets 4 on the window frame 5. Around this roller and at each end I-winda strap 6 and 50 provide disc-like vshoulders orlgudes 1 therefor, toinsure the even rolling ofthe straps. I-Iung on' the end of these straps 6 is a frame generally in` dicated tat It',v composed of two end brackets: 8; and ,B'Ehaving sl ts-8a in an upwardlylprojecting 55 In the event the window shade is. pulled i0v toiorm pawls 22.

two brackets in any manner well known in the art.

ond window shade roller I4 having the usual re-wind spring I5 but Wound to give less tensionV The end opposite to the re-wind end of the roller I4 Within this hollow is than the re-wind spring 3 in the roller I.

is hollowed out as at I6. placed a plug I1 and a plug I8 spaced therefrom. There is an aperture in the center of the plugs I1 and I8 and a rod I9 of resilient material is placed in the apertures in the plugs.y The plug I1 is preferably held stationary within the hollow I6 While the plug I8 may be slid to different po-v sitionswithin the-V hollow VI6. The-rod I9 projects beyond the end of the'roll I4 and is of a much less diameterY than 'the diameter of the hollow portion I6. VThe plug I8 is positioned Valong the rod I9 so as to' givean adjustable but determined spring tension tothe end |90. of the rod I9. Attached to the end of the roller I4 and surrounding the'rod I9 is a disc- 20. This disc has an aperture 2l of much greater diameter vthan the diameter of the rod I9 'and is so positioned that the rod' end I9w projects through theaperture 2I.` The disc 28 is rigidly fastened to the end of the roller I4 soI that it revolves therewith. The periphery of the disc 20 is cut l While I have shown two pawls in my preferred embodiment, it is apparent that any number of pawls from one on, may be used in practicing my invention. The pawls 22 are so configured on the periphery of the disc 28 thatY when the roller I4`is in itsy :horizontal position or is concentric with the horizontalv line of lthei frameIS, the pawlsrwill revolve freely. If, however,` the end of th'e'rolle-r I4` carrying the spring rod I9i's pulled downwardly in the -frame I3 the, pawls'22 willabut the rod `I2 and prevent the rollerv I4 from .further unrolling. This is well illustrated in Fig. 3 which shows the roller I4 and the `disc 20 concentric to the end |90f of the rod I 9, while Fig'. .4 Vshows the disc 20 and the roll .er I4 eccentric to theend I9a of the rod- I9 :and

with the pawl 22'abutting the rod I2.

In my preferred form I prefer to use a disc 29 having but two vpawls 22, andl position these.

pawls in such a ymanner that they will contact the rod I2 just after' thelatches 2 lock the roller from reversing or rolling. I do not intend to limit myself to this construction but; gain an advantage inasmuch as when the roller is pulled down so the pawls are contacted and released Vthe shadeV 2,5y will'only4 regroll a very short distance'. ,YI do not intend to limit myself to the bracketsg which, I have illustrated and described, since numerousother types'of bracketsl or frameworksl may be' used in carrying out my invention, but the slots 8a which I'have shown permit the strapsy 6 vto` be adjusted'as to length, `as is wellillustrated in Fig.'7.` f

LThe modification illustrated in Fig. 6 shows the spring rod I9 mounted in a tube 26 vterminated in a solid plug 21 ywith the rod I9 permanently positioned in the center of the plug 21. I provide'a` second plug 28 having a 4central aperture 29 through which the rod I9 is journaled in such a man'ner'that the'plug` 28 -may be slid in and out fof4 the tube 21 in order to lengthenor shorten Positioned and heldin this frame I3 isa secthe free end I 9a of the rod I9, and thus tochange its tension. I preferably provide a small aperture 30 in the face of the plug 28 which permits the insertion of a hook in order1 to pull the plug 28 out of the tube 26. This tube 26 with its complete assembly is slid into the hollow I6 at the end. of the roller I4 in such a manner that it may be easily-removed therefrom and the tension of the rod I9 changed and vthen replaced." K

The modification illustrated in Fig. 8 shows a means for resiliently maintaining the roller I4 in a horizontal position and so that a lateral pull of the shade will tipit and prevent its further unrolling. The modified form comprises a frame 35 having the connecting bar I 2, There is a Vertical slot 36 in this frame in which rides a collar 31 supported by a spring 38. At the top of the frame 35 are a series of slots 39 which support one end of the spring. It is apparent that by attaching the spring end to the dilerent apertures 39, the pull or tension on` theA collar 31 may loer regulated.

The roller endhas the disc 28 carrying the pawls 22 which abut the rod I2 when the roller I4 is tilted out of the horizontal. In some cases the construction is beneficial over the others, since the roller I4 need not be drilled out nor mutilated in any way andthe disc 20 may be tacked or nailed on the end.

The free end'ofy the shade 25 carried by the roller I4 may be terminated by a shade stick in the usual manner and with a pull cord 3I positioned in its center.

From the above description the action of my window shade is as follows: If the operator dek sires to unroll the shadeV r on the roller I 4he pulls the shade pull 3I directly downwardly or in a vertical direction. By pulling itin this way the downwardpressurel on the'roller I4 is evenly 'distributed and the disc carrying the pawls 22 is, not pulled down :but revolves-concentrically around the rod I9 and the pawls 22 do not abut the rod I2 asis illustrated in Fig. 3.- This permits the shade 25 Itounroll on the roller I 4,'since the re-wind springv I5 inthe'roller I 4 is weaker in tension than.

the re-wind spring 3 in the roller I, in the same manner thata normal shade will do;l When the shade `25 hasbeen pulled as far as is desirab-le, the latches 2 2 willprevent the re-rolling of the shade as is Wellknown in the art. Now, if the operator should desireA to pull ,the whole shade together with the-roller I4 downwardly on the window in order to openra space above the shade, he grasps the shade pull 3I and pulls it in a direction diagonal tozthe vertical in the direction of the arrow 35.. This places the downward pull on the roll I4 at the end having the spring rod I9 and bends the lrod I9 against its tension in such a manner that the disc 20 carrying the pawls 22 will attempt to revolve eccentrically around the rodv end I9a andthe pawls 22 will abut the rod I2 and prevent further unrolling ofthe roll I4. As thispressure is continued the tension in the rewind`spring`3 is-overcome and the straps '6 are unrolled from the roller I, thus lowering the frame I 3. the roller I4 and the whole shade 25. It is apparent from the 'above that by manipulating the shadeY pull 3| yeither in 'the vertical or in the diagonal, the shade vmay be rerolled on the roller I4 (layma-l nipulatingthe shade pull in the vertical) Aor rthe whole shade and rollerv I4 may be raised up (by manipulating the shade pull inthe diagonal). In both of .thesefcases the action of re-rolling is the same as on the typical shade wellknown in the art, "thatiswitn a. slight forwarder down- Ward pull to release the stops 2 before permitting a rather rapid re-roll.

I Wish particularly to call attention to the cheapness of making my device. The roller I is preferably a shade roller of the ordinary'type, although I do not intend to limit myself to this, since numerous other types of rollers may be made to carry out my invention. The roller I4 is a shade roller of the usual type, excepting asv to the hollowed out end I6 carrying the resilient rod I9 and the disc 20 carrying the pawls 22. Numerous forms of my frame I3 may be made and numerous means for stopping the revolving of the disc 20 may be associated with the frame.

In using my invention, I may preferably house the roller I with all of its parts and permit the straps 6 to come through a slot or slots therein. I may also house both of the rollers When they are at the top of the Window leaving an opening at the bottom of the housing which permits the entry and exit of the roll I4 together with its frame I3. roller I in the back of the Window, run the straps 6 over rollers or pulleys and through slots in the window frame itself, or I may prefer to use cords in place of the straps 6.

It is to be understood that different forms of my preferred form may be made Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A Window shade comprising a spring roller having a releasable stop', straps Wound around said roller with their ends supporting a frame, a second spring shade roller having a releasab-le stop supported in said frame, a window shade Wound around said second roller, the spring in said iirst roller being of greater tension than the spring in said second roller and means which inhibit the unrolling of the shade when the shade is pulled at an angle to the vertical, said inhibiting means comprising a means for resiliently maintaining the second roller in a horizontal position and means inhibiting the unrolling of said second roller when it is out of the horizontal position.

2. A Window shade comprising a spring roller having a releasable stop, straps Wound around said roller with their ends supporting a frame, a second spring shade roller having a releasable I may iind it preferable to mount the stop supported in said frame, a Window shade Wound around said second roller, the spring in said iirst roller being of greater tension than the spring in said second roller and means which inhibit the unrolling of the shade when the shade is pulled at an angle to the vertical, said inhibiting means comprising a spring for resiliently maintaining this second roller in a horizontal position, and a pawl on said roller and a stop, said pawl abutting said stop only when said roller is out of the horizontal position and prevents its unrolling.

3. In a spring shade roller having a releasable stop and mounted horizontally in a holder, means for preventing the unrolling of the same comprising a pawl projecting outwardly from the periphery of the roller and a stop associated With the holder, said pawl being out of contact with said stop when said roller is in a horizontal position, but abutting said stop when said roller is out of the horizontal position and means: for resiliently holding said roller in its horizontal position.

4. In a spring shade roller mounted in a frame, at least one bearing shaft comprising a spring rod mounted in a hollowed end of said roller and journaled at a point Within said hollowed end so as toform a resilient bearing shaft, a disc mounted on the end of said roller With said resilient shaft projecting through an opening therein of greater diameter than the diameter of said shaft, at least one pawl on the periphery of said disc, an abutment on said frame out of contact with said pawl When said resilient bearing is unflexed but contactable by said pawl when said resilient bearing is exed.

5. In a spring shade roller mounted in a frame, at least one bearing shaft comprising a, spring rod mounted in a hollowed end of said roller and journaled at a point within said hollowed end so. as to form a resilient bearing shaft, a disc mounted on the end of said roller with said resilient shaft projecting through an opening therein of greater diameter than the diameter of said shaft, at least one pawl on the periphery of said disc, an abutment on said frame out of contact With said pawl when said resilient bearing is uniiexed but contactable by said pawl when said resilient bearing is flexed, and means for adjusting said journal point along said rod.

JAMES S. MEAD. 

